Boko Haram activities give me sleepless nights, says Ihejirika

Posted by admin Boko Haram, Latest Politics Sunday, June 30th, 2013

By KINGSLEY OMONOBI

ABUJA — Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika, disclosed, yesterday, that he has had sleepless nights since 2010 when he was appointed COAS because of activities of the Boko Haram sect.

Ihejirika made the disclosure just as he said that the military had made tremendous achievements in the battle against insurgency in the north, but admitted that a lot still had to be done.

Speaking at an interdenominational church service to mark 150 years of existence of Nigerian Army, he stated that the capacity of all the units and those of the officers and men of the force had greatly improved, noting that the situation was what gave him the confidence that the operation would succeed.

Admitting that the battle against insurgency will continue to have occasional setbacks since it involves dealing with terrorists, who disguise as civilians, he lamented that the officers that are battling the insurgents had been ambushed a number of times in the current operation.

He said: “The occasional setback suffered in the operation is made possible by the fact that the insurgents disguise as civilians and as such some of the soldiers may not be on their best guard.

“Overall, we have made tremendous achievements but a lot still have to be done. In terms of welfare, it is encompassing and talking about logistics, we are talking about transport which is the vital part of logistics.

“We are aware of the current security challenges which I identified way back in 2010 on appointment as the Chief of Army Staff.

“It was in recognition of this challenge and strategy for dealing with it that made me evolve the vision to transform the Nigerian Army into a force better able to deal with contemporary challenges.”wp_posts